A typical recliner is a chair or couch that can move from a neutral or up position into a reclined or comfort position and back into the neutral position. It typically has a built-in manual controller having a housing in which various switches for actuating the electric drive or drives of the recliner are held. These switches are operated by an actuator element and adjust the recliner from the neutral position into the comfort position and back into the neutral position. The built-in controller having a lock for blocking undesired activation, and is connected or connectable to the electric drives and to a power source via a current-conducting cable.
Using these types of built-in controllers known in the prior art, a recliner adjustable by an electric motor may be adjusted by the user from a neutral position into a comfort position and then back into the neutral position in a particularly convenient manner. For this purpose, the user only has to appropriately activate the built-in controller, resulting in the adjustment by electric motor, typically moving the back between an erect up position to a more horizontal down position.
To prevent unintentional readjustment of the recliner, built-in controllers are known in the prior art that can prevent the position-control switches from functioning. For this purpose it is known, for example, to provide the built-in controller with an additional key-operated cutoff switch connected in series with the control switches, for example, so that the built-in controller may be operated only by use of the key-operated switch. The built-in controller does not function when blocked by the key-operated switch.
In another built-in controller known in the prior art, the locking and unlocking occurs by means of a switching contact in a hole or recess, for example, and that may be activated only by using a thin, pointed object in order to enable or block the built-in controller.